The next hand-quilted project: The Naked Forest

This "Naked Forest" quilt already has a story.

I used a great tutorial from Film in the Fridge. Her work is always fresh & modern - it was a perfect choice for all of the green print fabrics I'd collected.

Once I completed this quilt top, I knew I wanted to hand-quilt it.

I sent it to Melear Fabrics to baste on their longarm quilting machine.

They shipped it back to me, but the address was read incorrectly by the postal service. It ended up three states away, sitting in a holding area. Fortunately, the folks at my local post office were able to track it down.

There were a few very uncertain weeks.... Luckily, it arrived 27 days after it was shipped, unharmed.

Here, you can see the black basting thread up-close.

I started quilting it on Sunday, December 18, 2011. Today, I have 4 of 169 blocks quilted.

Let's see how long it takes for this to finish!

(If anyone wants to help the hand-stitching....)

details: 104x104, backing: Kona Tarragon, expected binding: Kona Basil Green, Batting: White Quilters Dream Request Loft W3K

Waverunner in Red

I saw this tutorial at Bumble Beans and knew I had to make it. This is for a good friend's TV room that is without color - until now.

The top came together pretty easily - in just two afternoons. The quilting and binding took less than a day. Improvisational piecing was more enjoyable than I thought it would be.

Not having straight lines is a little bit daunting.

I put a warm, fuzzy, light blue flannel on the back. You can't see this in the picture, but there's a light design on the binding fabric.

I really enjoyed working with all of the solids in this quilt!

Details: 60x80, flannel backing, 2.25in binding, grey quilting thread

The Tupperware Quilt is Complete

It's been a long time coming and this is finally complete. I've blogged about this quilt here and here. I'm so glad to be done with it! Here you can see its crinkly goodness after its first washing:
Here's few closeups of the hand stitching:

I've been feeling so good about the hand-stitching on this that I've decided to start another hand-stitched quilt.
I fell in love with this quilt on Film in the Fridge and decided to make my own.
I have 169 blocks -

Here's an almost-finished top on my bed:

I will add a narrow white border to this before it's basted. For the back, I've chosen a solid Kona tarragon. The binding's not yet decided - I am leaning towards Denyse Schmidt's Sugar Creek Kitchsy Tile Cornflower. Looking forward to some hand-stitching! Anyone want to help? At 102x102, there's enough room for a lot of hands to quilt this....

Quilts Squared

I just received my two most recent quilts back from my favorite long-arm quilter: Melear Fabrics. I love their work! The first quilt is made of extra squares from many quilts from the last 8 years. It's backed in maroon. It's warm, cozy, and ready for napping. The second quilt was made with Moda's warm pastel bella solids. I'd wanted to make this pattern for a few years and finally did it. It's backed in charcoal flannel.

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

Icepalooza has taken over the Midwest.

I woke to this kind of icicle action:

Just a mere week ago, we had this much snow:

(and I'm hoping for much, much, more)

Oh, how I love a winter storm.

And, of course, my trusty sidekick can't get enough of the magical white powder, either.

Today, I took advantage of the time iced-in and finished up two quilts.

The Striped Monster....

100x100 inches.

I have been collecting striped fabrics for years. years.

Finally, I finished the quilt top with them:

I braved the cold for a few photographs.

It was treacherous!

And wonderful.

This is a second, baby/lap size - about 40x50 inches.

The stripes came out a little screwy - I think it was too much for my baby camera to handle.

Purple Plainspoken for my niece, Ashley

I finished and gifted the Purple Plainspoken quilt to my niece, Ashley.

This is Ashley á

This is her quilt â

She chose purple camo for a fun, warm, flannel backing:

Fake-napping for Aunt Patticakes, so I could see it in action:

New Project: Pinwheels

I'm using the Moda Botany charm packs I picked up

in Paducah at the Quilt Show this year.

Here's a snapshot of all the fabrics in the Botany line -

This weekend, with the help of the first two seasons of Californication, I sewed 13 complete pinwheels and the other 197 half-way complete.

Here's 6 on my sewing table.

Hourglass Updated: FINISHED!

My hourglass quilt is finally finished!

The reproduction fabrics are so fun!

This is another huge one - the total size is about 100 square inches.

Again, shadowing from the trees hides the sharp & crisp quilt colors.

I used a reproduction light blue fabric for the backside, and a solid red binding.

The patterned white contrast very well to show off these fantastic fabrics!
Light showing thru to the back side:

Stella's none too pleased :(

Around the Purple World! Finished.

This purple "around the world" quilt was made for a pal who loves purple.

Here it's blowing in the wind.

This is a huge monster - over 110 square inches.
A purple print on the backside and purple with polka-dots for binding.

Shadows of trees hide the quilt's real color.
I hope she loves it!

Tinkerbell D9P update - It's finished! and a bonus tutu

Here's another gratuitous shot of the tutu. It's super cute!

I quilted the Tinkerbell quilt myself on the Juki:

Here's the finished project. It's naptakular!

And another close up of Jasmine's name embroidered:
A matching pillowcase:
With French Seams -
My favorite quilt model, Stella, showing off the purple polka-dot flannel on the backside.

I see many naps in Jasmine's future....

Tinkerbell D9P

Here's this weekend's work on a very special quilt for a very special girl who adores Tinkerbell.

In the bright sun, I was not able to capture the vibrant colors of the quilt.

Here's a shot of the sun-lit backside:

And...

Thanks to the handiwork of my Aunt Mary,

We have a personalized touch -

I hope Jasmine loves it!

It's not quite done as of this posting.

Here's the quilt on the table freshly basted:

My nifty new scissors I picked up in Paducah this year, made by Kai, cut thru this big roll of flannel & cotton batting:
Here, you can see the scissors, too:
The binding will match the small green squares!

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